BAGHDAD — Iraq has captured a leading Al Qaida
bombmaker, officials said.
The bombmaker was arrested on June 7 and subsequently identified as a key member of the Al
Qaida network led by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi.
A government announcement said
the operative assembled car bombs detonated by suicide attackers.
[On Tuesday, at least 40 people were killed in car bombings in the
northern Kurdish areas and Baghdad, Middle East Newsline reported. In one attack, 22 people were killed in
a suicide bombing in Kirkuk.]
The Iraqi announcement identified the operative as Jassim Hazan Hamadi
Al Bazi, also known as Abu Ahmed. Al Bazi was said to have been a member of
an Al Qaida cell operated by Hussein Ibrahim.
"He was also an active weapons dealer selling missiles, guns, mortars
and hand grenades," the government said on Tuesday. "Iraqi security
officials believe he is a primary suspect for providing weapons and the
training for attacks against the Iraqi people, the Iraqi government and the
Iraqi security forces."
The government said Al Bazi assembled and sold remote-controlled bombs
used in roadside attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces. The bombs were
sold for about $18,000 per unit.
Al Bazi was said to have worked from an electronic repair shop in Balad,
80 kilometers north of Baghdad. The statement said he also assembled land
mines.
Officials said Al Qaida and other Sunni insurgents have intensified
their improvised explosive device attacks since April 2005. IED attacks,
particularly suicide car bombings, led to record casualties in May.
Al Bazi was captured amid Operation Cobra Lightening, meant to eliminate
insurgency networks from the Baghdad area. On Tuesday, Iraqi Interior
Minister Bayan Jaber termed the operation as 90 percent successful,
asserting that car bombings in Baghdad have dropped from 12 per day to two.
He said authorities have captured eight car bombs, 52 mortars, 37 rockets
and 25 rocket-propelled grenades.
[On Wednesday, at least 23 Iraqi soldiers were killed in a suicide
bombing outside an Iraq Army base north of Baghdad. Officials said the
suicide bomber was wearing an army uniform and blew himself up as soldiers
of Al Salaam battalion gathered in a cafeteria for lunch.]
Jaber, whose statements have been disputed by other Iraqi and U.S.
officials, said the military and security forces have been capturing 85
insurgents daily, an eight-fold increase from prior to the operation. He
said authorities have detained 1,318 insurgents.
"Operation Lightning is now tightening the noose on the terrorists in the
center of Baghdad, and that's why they fled Baghdad because they have been
pursued," Jaber said.
